Disabled and Blind Day Yacht Sailing on Windermere

Sea Pig is our day Yacht and she is somewhere between a large sailing dingy and
small yacht. She is mostly open decked like a dinghy but thanks to a clever ballast
system is more stable than most yachts.
This makes her a fantastic accessible sailing boat - Sea Pig’s sides sit flush with the
pontoon and with no guard wires in the way, she’s easy to step aboard or transfer
into via a mid height transfer step.
Once aboard you can sail Sea Pig from a single position with the majority of the
controls accessible. Seating is on a flat bench with a great back rest. Support straps
are available to prevent sliding off when she leans and further lateral support is
available using our specialist watersports seat with 5 point harness and side support.
Sea Pig is a quick and lively boat and with up to 4 sails rigged there is lots to learn
and do onboard. Typically we meet and put on our buoyancy aids, board the boat and
set sail within 15 minutes of the meet time.
We motor out to some clear space, rig the sails and then it is time to get the hang of
manoeuvring her, changing the sails to suit the wind and controlling her direction. By
lunch time you will have earned it.
Lunch is a posh picnic with a hot drink supplied by us, usually whilst on anchor in a
bay.
After lunch it’s typically the upwind leg back to base and the most challenging and
exhilarating sailing direction.
A note on toilets; our base has excellent accessible toilets but they are not where the
wind is, so we normally sail away from them. There are further opportunities for the
loo at one other venue around lunchtime which should be accessible (being rebuilt for
spring 2022) though the pontoon there is fixed and at low lake levels potentially 70cm
higher than Sea Pig. There is an option to carry a loo, with rails and privacy tent
onboard and for others to go into the cabin but this best suits a private booking.